visit to the SINGER factory in California
Discussion
Hi guys
I took a drive up to the Singer HQ a few weeks ago and did a little write up on it
Hope some of you may enjoy it, hope some of you don't get too bored with it, and some just ignore it
Here goes and thanks in advance
This isn’t about ultimate horsepower or fighting superhuman oversteer around a corner, this is about an automotive work of art, a mobile piece of high class jewelry if you will
This is about Singer Vehicle Design in Los Angeles California and how they’re growing a specialized niche market where you’d least expect it
By Miguel de Figueiredo
It was a sunny Californian morning, much like every other morning on this part of the world, and I’d just finished reading an article on a famous british magazine about them
A quick google search revealed their HQ to be just about 40 minutes away – right around the corner in Los Angeles distances, so I figured: what the heck….
Now first I must make a disclaimer: I was never a Porsche fan
I can acknowledge the quality of their products, I can relate to the performance of their sports cars and I can even admit to the classical, timeless beauty of their most famous creations, but it just never ‘gelled’ with me
When most of my colleagues were arguing about the greatest football player I was having a one on one with (still) one of my dearest friends about the virtues of the 550 Maranello over the ‘unbalanced, spiky and erroneously designed 911 turbo’
When everybody else was talking about the past weekend’s derby or the greatest football team in the world – yeah, football is pretty big in Europe, in case you didn’t know that already; I was professing my love for high revving, naturally aspirated cars versus turbocharged, laggy beetles….
So you can pretty much read the following lines with the certainty of an unbiased appraisal
WOW
IT IS (insert expletive of choice) INCREDIBLE
It’s not just the way they make the best out of the 911’s design, it’s the way they make every little part of a car I was never too fond of look absolutely amazing
If I had a pavlovian conditioning like drooling whenever I saw automotive perfection the floor would be flooded with my saliva
WHAT A CAR
But I’m getting ahead of myself (perfectly understandable if you were reliving what I’d just seen)
‘You’ve reach your destination’ said the GPS lady that reminds me too much of my pre school teacher
But she had to be wrong
All I saw was a non-descript building with some old cars out in front and some boxes next to a garage entrance
‘This can’t be right’
But yeah, it was as I noticed a small sign saying SINGER with the famous lettering next to the pilled up cardboard boxes
It went more or less like this:
‘Hi, I’m a car guy from Europe and I love your work, is there any chance I can take a look around?’
Most car manufacturers in Europe (or tuning companies, or racing teams, or everybody else for that matter) would just laugh you out the door but not these guys, no.
They invite you in with a smile and take time off to show you around and all they ask for is no pictures – I can tell you that you won’t need pictures if you go there, everything will just be carved into your memory banks such is the extraordinariness of it all
My host was Alex Chang, nephew of the founder and creator of the first Singer car
He (Alex) is the nicest, sweetest guy you can ever meet, and he talked about ‘his’ cars with such humility and humbleness you kinda wonder if he has any idea how important and adored his work is on the other side of the pond
‘We know we’ve had articles in some European magazines but it’s still pretty surprising when people from across the world show up at our doorstep just to pay a visit’ – he means me and the other crazy petrolheads who roam to his front door every now and again
‘This is a costumer’s car that came in for a service. It’s his everyday car’
His WHAT? His EVERYDAY CAR?
The work of art in question is named after a big northern California city (google it, as per agreement I can’t say much more) and the engine bay was open when I got there….
This stuff is R rated
This is automotive porn of the highest level
The custom made intake manifolds look like something out of H. R. Giger’s head and the marine grade fire proof fabric that isolates the entire engine compartment is something you could pull out of a Versace or Armani catalogue
At this point Alex was telling me about how their market had grown and became more upscale – totally understandable given the quality and meticulousness of their products, but I must confess that I was already peeking into the laptop that was being used to make sure the engine was properly tuned and all the settings were correct
And then I saw the interior
You can look at a thousand pictures, you can read about it in a dozen magazines but it won’t do it justice
Nothing can do it justice
The seats alone are worthy of something straight out of Buckingham palace
The Becker radio with a retro look but state of the art functionality is another
And what did it for me was the rev counter
OMG
Yeah, yeah, Ferrari has been using red and yellow rev counters for decades and even Porsche as used colored ones at times but not on a 964 generation car, and definitely not like this
And then the technician started the engine
Mic drop
I’m sold
This thing sounds like no other 911 (or boxster engined Porsche for that matter)
It has the uniquely identifiable Porsche sound but so much, SO MUCH cooler and rawer
You’ll start it in your garage and just listen to it for your own aural pleasure
I could stay there for the rest of the day but alas Alex wanted me to see the rest of the shop (and I’m glad he did for there were still some more surprises to come)
As we were walking inside his grandfather showed up and in one of those ‘I’ll never forget this, ever’ moments I heard him praise the virtues of hard work, dedication and success with honor, intelligence and humanity – in a world where everybody wants to be the next overnight sensation and social media wreaks havoc with traditional glory it’s a breath of fresh air to find, meet and listen to someone like Alex’s granddad
Oh but still there was more….
One more person that would prove an highlight of the visit
Seamus
The irish accent, the jester like jokes and the peculiar sense of humor
What a character and what a joy he was
Of course we talked about football – how could we not?
He’s wide off the mark on some things – like who’s the greatest player in the world right now, but he’s full of laughs and he can cheer up the somberest of moods
He was also working the under carriage of something orange, with really large tires and two shinny exhaust tips…..
It was with glowing eyes and a big smile that we started heading back towards the door but not before Alex uncovered the first of the Singer cars that his uncle designed
Now, you can gawk at the beauty of it, or stare dumbfounded at the simplicity and future direction it represents but I just got sold on the Plexiglas engine cover
It’s so ingenious and simple it makes you wonder why doesn’t everybody do it on their cars?
If you can’t imagine it picture something like the window over a 360 Modena-onwards V8 Ferrari engine and it’s close enough (but with holes for improved breathing – these are air cooled cars, remember; and a race car feel to it)
I couldn’t have asked for anything more
But still I got it – Alex took my picture with the aforementioned car and the Singer sign next to me
What a way to spend a morning in Los Angeles
Great cars, great people and a great experience
Porsche, I’ll never bad mouth you again – especially since you’re starting to bring the engine to it’s ‘right place’
Singer, you’re bespoke, unique and utterly talented in what you do, with a great bunch of highly talented, highly competent and highly motivated people in your ranks and I can’t wait to see what you’re gonna do next
As for me?
I WANT ONE, BADLY
In orange…….
I took a drive up to the Singer HQ a few weeks ago and did a little write up on it
Hope some of you may enjoy it, hope some of you don't get too bored with it, and some just ignore it
Here goes and thanks in advance
This isn’t about ultimate horsepower or fighting superhuman oversteer around a corner, this is about an automotive work of art, a mobile piece of high class jewelry if you will
This is about Singer Vehicle Design in Los Angeles California and how they’re growing a specialized niche market where you’d least expect it
By Miguel de Figueiredo
It was a sunny Californian morning, much like every other morning on this part of the world, and I’d just finished reading an article on a famous british magazine about them
A quick google search revealed their HQ to be just about 40 minutes away – right around the corner in Los Angeles distances, so I figured: what the heck….
Now first I must make a disclaimer: I was never a Porsche fan
I can acknowledge the quality of their products, I can relate to the performance of their sports cars and I can even admit to the classical, timeless beauty of their most famous creations, but it just never ‘gelled’ with me
When most of my colleagues were arguing about the greatest football player I was having a one on one with (still) one of my dearest friends about the virtues of the 550 Maranello over the ‘unbalanced, spiky and erroneously designed 911 turbo’
When everybody else was talking about the past weekend’s derby or the greatest football team in the world – yeah, football is pretty big in Europe, in case you didn’t know that already; I was professing my love for high revving, naturally aspirated cars versus turbocharged, laggy beetles….
So you can pretty much read the following lines with the certainty of an unbiased appraisal
WOW
IT IS (insert expletive of choice) INCREDIBLE
It’s not just the way they make the best out of the 911’s design, it’s the way they make every little part of a car I was never too fond of look absolutely amazing
If I had a pavlovian conditioning like drooling whenever I saw automotive perfection the floor would be flooded with my saliva
WHAT A CAR
But I’m getting ahead of myself (perfectly understandable if you were reliving what I’d just seen)
‘You’ve reach your destination’ said the GPS lady that reminds me too much of my pre school teacher
But she had to be wrong
All I saw was a non-descript building with some old cars out in front and some boxes next to a garage entrance
‘This can’t be right’
But yeah, it was as I noticed a small sign saying SINGER with the famous lettering next to the pilled up cardboard boxes
It went more or less like this:
‘Hi, I’m a car guy from Europe and I love your work, is there any chance I can take a look around?’
Most car manufacturers in Europe (or tuning companies, or racing teams, or everybody else for that matter) would just laugh you out the door but not these guys, no.
They invite you in with a smile and take time off to show you around and all they ask for is no pictures – I can tell you that you won’t need pictures if you go there, everything will just be carved into your memory banks such is the extraordinariness of it all
My host was Alex Chang, nephew of the founder and creator of the first Singer car
He (Alex) is the nicest, sweetest guy you can ever meet, and he talked about ‘his’ cars with such humility and humbleness you kinda wonder if he has any idea how important and adored his work is on the other side of the pond
‘We know we’ve had articles in some European magazines but it’s still pretty surprising when people from across the world show up at our doorstep just to pay a visit’ – he means me and the other crazy petrolheads who roam to his front door every now and again
‘This is a costumer’s car that came in for a service. It’s his everyday car’
His WHAT? His EVERYDAY CAR?
The work of art in question is named after a big northern California city (google it, as per agreement I can’t say much more) and the engine bay was open when I got there….
This stuff is R rated
This is automotive porn of the highest level
The custom made intake manifolds look like something out of H. R. Giger’s head and the marine grade fire proof fabric that isolates the entire engine compartment is something you could pull out of a Versace or Armani catalogue
At this point Alex was telling me about how their market had grown and became more upscale – totally understandable given the quality and meticulousness of their products, but I must confess that I was already peeking into the laptop that was being used to make sure the engine was properly tuned and all the settings were correct
And then I saw the interior
You can look at a thousand pictures, you can read about it in a dozen magazines but it won’t do it justice
Nothing can do it justice
The seats alone are worthy of something straight out of Buckingham palace
The Becker radio with a retro look but state of the art functionality is another
And what did it for me was the rev counter
OMG
Yeah, yeah, Ferrari has been using red and yellow rev counters for decades and even Porsche as used colored ones at times but not on a 964 generation car, and definitely not like this
And then the technician started the engine
Mic drop
I’m sold
This thing sounds like no other 911 (or boxster engined Porsche for that matter)
It has the uniquely identifiable Porsche sound but so much, SO MUCH cooler and rawer
You’ll start it in your garage and just listen to it for your own aural pleasure
I could stay there for the rest of the day but alas Alex wanted me to see the rest of the shop (and I’m glad he did for there were still some more surprises to come)
As we were walking inside his grandfather showed up and in one of those ‘I’ll never forget this, ever’ moments I heard him praise the virtues of hard work, dedication and success with honor, intelligence and humanity – in a world where everybody wants to be the next overnight sensation and social media wreaks havoc with traditional glory it’s a breath of fresh air to find, meet and listen to someone like Alex’s granddad
Oh but still there was more….
One more person that would prove an highlight of the visit
Seamus
The irish accent, the jester like jokes and the peculiar sense of humor
What a character and what a joy he was
Of course we talked about football – how could we not?
He’s wide off the mark on some things – like who’s the greatest player in the world right now, but he’s full of laughs and he can cheer up the somberest of moods
He was also working the under carriage of something orange, with really large tires and two shinny exhaust tips…..
It was with glowing eyes and a big smile that we started heading back towards the door but not before Alex uncovered the first of the Singer cars that his uncle designed
Now, you can gawk at the beauty of it, or stare dumbfounded at the simplicity and future direction it represents but I just got sold on the Plexiglas engine cover
It’s so ingenious and simple it makes you wonder why doesn’t everybody do it on their cars?
If you can’t imagine it picture something like the window over a 360 Modena-onwards V8 Ferrari engine and it’s close enough (but with holes for improved breathing – these are air cooled cars, remember; and a race car feel to it)
I couldn’t have asked for anything more
But still I got it – Alex took my picture with the aforementioned car and the Singer sign next to me
What a way to spend a morning in Los Angeles
Great cars, great people and a great experience
Porsche, I’ll never bad mouth you again – especially since you’re starting to bring the engine to it’s ‘right place’
Singer, you’re bespoke, unique and utterly talented in what you do, with a great bunch of highly talented, highly competent and highly motivated people in your ranks and I can’t wait to see what you’re gonna do next
As for me?
I WANT ONE, BADLY
In orange…….
Thanks for the thumbs up guys
Actually it was just a spur of the moment thing
Last day in LA - went there to see Temple of the Dog live (in case some of you in here know them)
And just popped by out of the blue and unannounced
They couldn't have been more helpful and fun
No pictures was all they asked
Great guys all around and the cars are just stroke inducing - beautiful!!
Thanks again for the support
Cheers,
Miguel
Actually it was just a spur of the moment thing
Last day in LA - went there to see Temple of the Dog live (in case some of you in here know them)
And just popped by out of the blue and unannounced
They couldn't have been more helpful and fun
No pictures was all they asked
Great guys all around and the cars are just stroke inducing - beautiful!!
Thanks again for the support
Cheers,
Miguel
MrJuice said:
I know this is a 'if you have to ask...' type of question
But what does one expect to pay for one of these and resale?
MrJuice it came into the conversarionBut what does one expect to pay for one of these and resale?
They started selling these at the 300K mark but they told me they are upping their market until its nearer to 500K
It's not that much if one thinks how much Eagle charges for one of their E types.....
Wodanaz said:
MrJuice it came into the conversarion
They started selling these at the 300K mark but they told me they are upping their market until its nearer to 500K
It's not that much if one thinks how much Eagle charges for one of their E types.....
GBP or USD?They started selling these at the 300K mark but they told me they are upping their market until its nearer to 500K
It's not that much if one thinks how much Eagle charges for one of their E types.....
I don't think I've seen one on UK roads. Seen a few pictures of them on UK roads though
Good luck to them. I was just curious to know if it is the same as putting that amount into say a bespoke piece of jewellery where you'd expect to take a massive bath if you ever sold it
Great write up. The pinnacle of the 911. Interesting that it's an after market company that does this rather than the manufacturer.
Still - Jaguar and Aston have figured this out and now produce new-old cars for a massive amount.
I'd love a Singer or something with that spec to keep forever.
Amazing
Still - Jaguar and Aston have figured this out and now produce new-old cars for a massive amount.
I'd love a Singer or something with that spec to keep forever.
Amazing
Thanks SRT 
Yeah, that's all they asked for: no pictures - He did take one of me when I left but it was just me and the Singer entrance sign.....
Their craftsmanship is above and beyond anything even Porsche has ever done
There's not much one would want to change in a car like that
Yeah, that's all they asked for: no pictures - He did take one of me when I left but it was just me and the Singer entrance sign.....
Their craftsmanship is above and beyond anything even Porsche has ever done
There's not much one would want to change in a car like that
SRT Hellcat said:
If you read the article he was specifically asked not to take pictures.
Fantastic read. Thanks for sharing.
I am a great fan of what they do and what they have achieved and would very much like to experience one at some point in the future
Fantastic read. Thanks for sharing.
I am a great fan of what they do and what they have achieved and would very much like to experience one at some point in the future
Thank you very much stuckmojo
Yeah, I've seen the Jaguar continuation models and I too would love to at least have a drive on one of them
The Singer though, as a work of art that it is, it still makes you feel like you can drive it and actually 'thrash it' everyday - I believe most owners actually do from what I was told
They're just beautiful and reliable beyond anything Porsche did at the time they were sold
Yeah, I've seen the Jaguar continuation models and I too would love to at least have a drive on one of them
The Singer though, as a work of art that it is, it still makes you feel like you can drive it and actually 'thrash it' everyday - I believe most owners actually do from what I was told
They're just beautiful and reliable beyond anything Porsche did at the time they were sold
stuckmojo said:
Great write up. The pinnacle of the 911. Interesting that it's an after market company that does this rather than the manufacturer.
Still - Jaguar and Aston have figured this out and now produce new-old cars for a massive amount.
I'd love a Singer or something with that spec to keep forever.
Amazing
Still - Jaguar and Aston have figured this out and now produce new-old cars for a massive amount.
I'd love a Singer or something with that spec to keep forever.
Amazing
And if you want something more 'in depth' with pictures
http://www.topgear.com/car-news/classic/why-singer...
http://www.topgear.com/car-news/classic/why-singer...
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